The Struggle for Female Physicians in Canada 1800-1950
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University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Conferences History of Medicine Days 2007 Monstrous brains and puny bodies: the struggle for female physicians in Canada 1800-1950 Creek, Kristen L.B. Creek, K. L. B. "Monstrous brains and puny bodies: the struggle for female physicians in Canada 1800-1950". The Proceedings of the 16th Annual History of Medicine Days, March 30th and 31st, 2007 Health Sciences Centre, Calgary, AB. http://hdl.handle.net/1880/47537 conference proceedings Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca MONSTROUS BRAINS AND PUNY BODIES: THE STRUGGLE FOR FEMALE PHYSICIANS IN CANADA 1800-1950 by Kristen L.B. Creek University of Manitoba Preceptor: Dr. P. Warren Abstract The end result of medical education for women as said by a male medical professor in 1873 was ‘monstrous brains and puny bodies.’ It is obvious from this quote that the path for a woman to become a doctor was not easy and it can be said that every 19th century female doctor in Canada was a pioneer for the future of Canadian medicine. The prevailing view of women at this time was that women were the Almighty’s special creations and were susceptible to a multitude of emotional and nervous disorders. The perseverance of a few dedicated women in the mid-19th century paved the way for females to be able to be educated and practice medicine in Canada. As a woman, there were many struggles and obstacles to be faced in becoming a medical doctor. Pioneering Canadian women in the field of medicine include the first female physician in Canada, Dr. James Miranda Stuart Barry; the founders of the first medical colleges for women, Dr. Emily Stowe and Dr. Jennie Trout; and Dr. Maude Abbott, a leader in the field of research on congenital heart disease. Obstacles that these women faced included being allowed to enter into medical school and practice in Canada, social stigma from male counterparts and the general public and the way the profession was run itself posed challenges. In overcoming these struggles, these and many other women made great contributions and strides in medicine and in the feminist movement itself in Canada. The end result of medical education for women as said by a male medical professor in 1873 was ‘monstrous brains and puny bodies’ (Wynn, 2000). It is obvious from this quote that the path to becoming a doctor for women was not easy and it can be said that every 19th century female doctor was a pioneer. The prevailing view of women during the 1800s was that women were the Almighty’s special creations and were susceptible to a multitude of emotional and nervous disorders (Abram 1985). The resistance for women to pursue medicine is based on the male antagonist notion of sentiment and practicality. This is the notion of an idealized womanhood – that medicine was not for women because the world itself was not for them and that only ~ 62 ~ Proceedings of the 16h Annual History of Medicine Days Melanie Stapleton- March 2007 males were capable of combating its stresses. The perseverance of a few dedicated women in the mid-19th century paved the way for females to be able to be educated and practice medicine in Canada. As a woman, there were many struggles and obstacles to be faced in becoming a medical doctor. These obstacles included being allowed entry to medical school, opposition from male colleagues, their families, society and the profession itself. However, in overcoming these struggles, many women made great contributions and strides in medicine and in the feminist movement itself. In the 19th century, a women’s role in medicine was that of a patient. The prevailing view was that women were unsuited to the profession and thus were not allowed to enter medical school. It was still unusual at this time for women to go into any branch of higher education and, even after women were allowed to enroll in universities, it did not mean they were allowed to enroll in professional faculties on the same basis as males (Waugh 1992). The medical profession, however, proved more susceptible to a feminist argument because of the long history of women healers, midwives and nurses and the important notion of female guardianship in the medical and moral needs of women and children (Abram 1985). The drive to claim a place in medicine in Canada began with the efforts of several women. By the 1850s, Canadian women began to demand the opportunity to be admitted to medical school but it wasn’t until 1883 that women were allowed to do so (Kelen 2000). Surprisingly, there had previously been a female physician in Canada, Dr. James Miranda Stuart Barry, who practiced medicine disguised as a man in Canada in 1812. It wasn’t until her death forty-six years later that it was revealed she was a woman and had disguised her identity (Waugh 1992). Prior to the acceptance of women into medicine there were female doctors practicing in Canada. In the 1870s, Dr. Emily Stowe was practicing in Toronto along with her contemporary, Dr. Jennie Trout (Hacker 1974). This was because women could complete their medical education in the United States and return to practice in Canada. Stowe was forced to enter the New York Medical College for Women in the U.S. after being denied entry into any Canadian medical school (Mount Allison University). In 1867, Stowe set up a medical practice where she found many patients willing to be treated by a woman; however, she was refused a license from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. It took more than ten years to be granted an Ontario medical license in 1880 (Mount Allison University). Stowe broke down many boundaries inside and out of the medical profession. She helped found the Toronto Women’s Literary Guild, Canada’s first suffragette group aimed at fighting for women’s rights. She put immense pressure on the University of Toronto to allow acceptance of women into the faculty of medicine. As a result, her daughter, Augusta Stowe-Gullen, was the first woman to graduate from a Canadian medical school in 1883 (Library and Archives Canada). Jennie Trout, a physician practicing in Canada at the same time as Emily Stowe, is credited as the first woman physician licensed to practice in Canada. This was due to ~ 63 ~ Proceedings of the 16h Annual History of Medicine Days Melanie Stapleton- March 2007 the fact that Dr. Stowe practiced illegally using her American medical degree while Jennie took the examinations of the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Trout was also the catalyst in the founding of Kingston Women’s Medical College in 1883 (Hacker 1974). Dr. Trout wanted not only a place for women to receive medical education but also a ‘liberal’ one, meaning that women would be on the staff and the board of governors. In fact, she herself was appointed as one of the trustees of the college (Hacker 1974). Emily Stowe also sponsored a women’s college and was behind the making of Toronto’s Medical College for Women. Both of the schools amalgamated as the Ontario Medical College for Women in Toronto in 1894 (Hacker 1974). The women’s colleges were important in that they offered women advantages difficult to find elsewhere and were an encouraging environment outside the male-dominated programs. Although women were now allowed entry into medical school, the hardships women endured were no less difficult. Emily Stowe’s daughter, Augusta Stowe, the first female to graduate from medical school in Canada, endured many struggles while enrolled in the Toronto School of Medicine in 1879 (Library and Archives Canada). Despite this, Dr. Augusta Stowe-Gullen went on to hold the first faculty position in Canadian medicine and became a founding member of Women’s College Hospital in Toronto (Hacker 1974). She also continued her mother’s fight for women’s rights. She became an active member of the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons, the University Women’s Club and the Toronto Board of Education. She was also one of the founders of the National Council of Women and went on to be awarded the Order of the British Empire (Mount Allison University). Once women began entering medical school, they were still surrounded with social obstacles. Most importantly, women had to persuade their families and the public that it wasn’t un-womanly to be a physician. Women at this time were idealized as being fragile creatures and that the vigorous study of medicine would cause their inevitable collapse. If women were to practice medicine, it was at the cost of their sensibility and modesty. They would have to become masculinized and repulsive to be successful (Shortt 1981). In an era where most doctors were general practitioners and were responsible for the entire range of medical practice including surgery, it was considered outside the realm of womanhood to be able to engage in aspects included in the medical profession such as dissection (Gabriel 2001). Another social obstacle was a financial one that was different from the financial challenges that may have been faced by their male counterparts. Many women battled familial hostility towards their medical career and therefore the family would not support their education financially. As a result women usually entered medical school after working as a teacher or a nurse and continued to work during school to support their education (Wells 2001). Women also were not accepted by their fellow students or the faculty and faced academic obstacles even upon entering medical school. The male students and lecturers went out of their way to shock the women and many of the professors were ~ 64 ~ Proceedings of the 16h Annual History of Medicine Days Melanie Stapleton- March 2007 reluctant to support the education and career of these women (Hacker 1974).